Sicilian Pizza Recipe

In Sicily they do not often use cheese in their pizza recipes and the toppings, particularly the herbs, are baked directly on top of the pizza dough. The Sicilians use a lot of olives and a flavored paste called a tapenade which can be used as a dip or as a topping for the Sicilian pizza. To make tapanade, olives are stoned then minced in a pestle and mortar and then pepper, basil, sage and thyme are added.

Palermo, the capital of Sicily, is awash with fresh sardines and surprisingly the most popular pizza topping is fresh sardines. If you cannot get fresh sardines, canned can be used, but it gives a completely different taste and texture. Add canned sardines at the last minute as they need only to be heated.